Saturday September 16, Cap Sauers MorainesWe worked deeper in along a ravine where we cut brush earlier in the year, with brushcutters, a chainsaw, and hand tools. Though I had another commitment and could not stay the entire time I'm confident a lot got done from seeing how volunteers were pitching in while I was there.

Sunday September 17, Swallow Cliff Woods SouthWe collected seed in the morning, working inside the loop in a lovely area under management for many years. Mostly we collected woodland grasses for distribution later; we also spotted a couple kinds of berries which were taken to a recently-cleared spot and spread around.

Thanks to first time volunteers Tyler, Artur, Jessica, and James. It's always exciting to see new faces and is our sincere hope they can make it out again.

Sunday September 24, Black Partridge WoodsOur afternoon gig was brush cutting and burning. It was hot, and it was tough, and we are most grateful to everyone who helped us and endured the heat. If we didn't already have brush piles from a previous day, we probably would have deferred on the burning, but we didn't want to get too far behind.

Great crew, great day! Thanks to another set of first-timers: Donna, Dave, Brian and Amy, and to Tyler who doubled up after the morning at Swallow Cliff.

Wednesday September 20, Paddock WoodsAfter a wonderfully cool summer it seems that this week's heat and humidity scared off many of our Paddock regulars. Nevertheless a small group worked on clearing invasives along a ravine in the SE corner of Paddock. Now complete, it will be a breeze for our chain sawyers to thin trees and let the sunlight in. Thanks to Doug Chien for the account on this Paddock workday.

Thursday September 21, Nature Walk at Spears WoodsUnder a blazing sun, we walked from the Spears lot to the prairie near Boomerang Slough with half a dozen patrons of Palos Park Library and librarian Jessica Rock. We sought shade whenever possible. So much fun sharing the preserves with others!